Archetypes
by Vauseman
Summary: AU. Piper and Alex meet in detention at Litchfield High School, forming an instant attraction to one another. When strange occurrences start to plague Piper, it becomes clear that it is not just Alex and Larry that have an invested interest in the blonde. Piper must deal with conflicting feelings, imminent dangers, and all the struggles of being a senior in high school. Piper/Alex
1. Chapter 1

**Quick little disclaimer: I've only done one watch-through of the season, and I was on Tumblr as I watched. Therefore I'm not too familiar with the names or the smaller details of the characters. In addition to that, there's not too much up on the internet about the show yet; so I apologize for any inaccuracies.**

**That being said, this is AU so characters will be slightly OOC anyways.**

**Lots of Vauseman after the Pennsatucky bit at the beginnning.**

* * *

Piper Chapman walked down the hall, a neatly stapled package in her hand. It was Monday's assignment in which she had used all her powers of persuasion to receive an extension on. And that, too, was late.

She just needed to hand it in to the drop box before the teachers went on lunch, and then she could still get marks for it. Easy.

Piper could hear the commotion around the corner from down the hall. It was probably those bible thumpers again. They'd been getting rowdy lately about some pro-life stuff that had been going on in the town. Unfortunately for Piper and the rest of Litchfield, they felt it was their duty to bring the rally into the school during lunch hours.

Oh, and Pennsatucky fucking hated Piper. That too.

The maintenance door opened, nearly smacking Piper in the face as the school handyman stepped out. She sidestepped the door with a jump.

A messy head of brown hair turned towards her. "Oh, sorry Chapman. Didn't see you there." He said upon realizing he'd cut her off. He ducked his head back into the maintenance closet and wheeled out a trolley of electrical equipment.

"It's fine, Mr. Luschek." She responded, hugging her paper to her chest.

She felt his dopey gaze linger a touch too long before he scratched his head and shrugged. "You going that way?" He asked, jabbing his finger in the direction of the teacher's den. Piper nodded. "Watch out for Pennsatucky. She's got her troupe marching around the school. It's a big pain in the ass."

Piper nodded again. "I've noticed. You'd think they'd shut her down, or send her to the chapel or something."

Luschek chuckled. "Wouldn't be a bad idea. But nobody wants to get a mouthful from her. She's batshit crazy anyhow." He said. He wheeled his trolley around and started pulling it in the other direction. "Anyway, see you around Chapman."

Piper gave him a small wave and walked towards the end of the hall. She took a quick peek around the corner and saw Pennsatucky and her crew of advocators marching in front of the teacher's den, chanting some anti-abortion slurs and holding up signs. There was an impressive amount of people gathered, and they were making an impressive amount of noise.

She pulled out her phone to check the time. There was a message from Polly asking where she was, and to hurry up because she wanted to grab a coffee from the plaza. There was also a message from Larry saying that he was going to print something off from the lab, but he'd meet her at the cafeteria later. And that he missed her. And a dorky happy face.

She took a breath.

It was 11:57am, so all she had to do was make her way to-

"Watch where you're going!" A girl said as she unsuccessfully tried to slide past the marching crowd.

"Oh, sorry." Piper said, again trying to squeeze through the troupe of people. She was successfully failing.

And then Piper heard the unmistakable voice of Pennsatucky. "Chapman?" She called out, her voice seeming to echo throughout the hall. It was like the parting of the Red Sea; the mass of people split down the middle, creating an open path between the mousey leader and herself. Upon seeing her, Pennsatucky snorted. "Look at that, fellas. It_ is_ Chapman! The Lord obviously brought her here today as a prime example of an abomination!" She proclaimed in that mystical, self-righteous way she does.

Piper scrunched up her nose, already sensing that dropping off her assignment would be more difficult than it needed to be. The girl was heaps of trouble and weird.

So what if her student council always shot down Pennsatucky's ideas to "bring Jesus" into the school? It was a public school and there were rules against religious biases. Pennsatucky shouldn't take it so personally. Plus the girl was racist as fuck, so half of her proposals made no logical sense.

"I'm not in the mood today, Tucky." Piper said, feeling all eyes turn towards her. "I just want to drop off my paper."

Pennsatucky shook her head and raised her hands into the air. "For those of you that don't know, no matter how hard we try Chapman rejects the Lord every time we present him to her. Her and the whole student council. Student body is run by devils!" She said, earning a couple cheers and cries from her audience. She took a couple threatening steps towards Piper.

Piper rolled her eyes and made her way towards the den doors. She really didn't have time for this.

There was a flapping sound and suddenly Piper was empty-handed. She whipped her head around. Pennsatucky was holding her paper up by the staple, a shit-eating grin plastered to her face.

_You've got to be fucking kidding me._

"How's it feel to have something important taken from you?" She said, waving the assignment around for all to see. Her tongue hung out between her teeth in a taunting way as she regarded the blond in front of her.

Piper gritted her teeth. "Very funny; give it back." She said, outstretching her hand. She held her open palm out, expectantly.

"Why should I? You haven't given us anything. We come up with proposals all the time." Pennsatucky said. She looked to her eager followers. "Am I right, guys?" She asked them, and they cried out their agreement. She took a look at Piper's unamused face. "Oh, poor Piper." She said, mock-frowning. "Chapman here dates all the boys and girls; she buys into material things and all other temptations. She's unpure!" Pennsatucky barked. "She doesn't deserve to represent us in student council." She said, wagging the assignment at Piper.

Piper sighed, taking a peek at the time on her phone; it was 11:59am. With her patience gone, she squared her jaw. "Listen, Tucky. If you don't give my paper back to me right now, I will literally punch you in your fucked up teeth." Piper warned. And just because she had a big mouth and probably a temper problem, she added: "Consider it dental work."

Pennsatucky flashed her so-called fucked up teeth with a smug smile. She held the paper out in front of her with two hands, and then tore it halfway down the page. The sound of ripping paper resonated through the hallway.

Piper punched her in the mouth.

* * *

Maybe it was Mr. Healy's perverse interest in Piper, or maybe it was because everybody hated Pennsatucky anyways; but Piper was happy that she only received detention as a punishment. Well, detention for the rest of the week.

Not bad for a well-deserved punch.

Piper knocked on the door to room M23, a larger man at the teacher's desk beckoned her in.

She placed her bag on one of the round tables in the room. There was only one other person in there, a girl hunched over her book, facing the opposite direction.

"Can I help you?" The man asked, looking at Piper expectantly.

Piper nodded, approaching the desk. "Uhh, yes. I'm Piper Chapman, I'm here for detention. I'm supposed to be here all week."

The man stared at Piper long enough to make her uncomfortable. He pointed to a book on the desk without breaking eye contact, looking bored as he did so. "Sign your name and time in the log, and then sit down." He said.

Piper picked up a pen from the desk and wrote her name underneath the first entry. The name was scrawled in narrow handwriting: Alex Vause.

When Piper sat down by her bag, the man stood from his desk. "Alright, newbie. The rules are no cell phones, no eating, no talking, no leaving. I'm going for lunch. I'll check in every so often and if you're not here, you get more detention. Got it?" He asked.

"Yeah. Got it." Piper breathed.

"Oh, and no visitors." He said. Content with his little speech, he picked up his wallet from the desk drawer and left the room.

It was just Piper and the Alex girl now.

Piper exhaled deeply, sighing as she unzipped her bag. She might as well get some work done. She looked around the room; she'd never been to any of the M rooms before. It was a small, dark room with a couple circle tables and chairs at the front of the room. The back half of the room was filled with book shelves and there were a couple school computers at the very back desks. It was an environmental studies room. Or at least it seemed like it was, judging from the charts and posters on the walls.

"So you really punched the bible dweeb in the face?"

Piper turned towards the sound of the voice. The other girl was fully facing her now, twisted in her chair to look at Piper with an elbow propped up on the back of her seat. She kicked up her feet onto the table.

"I, uhh-" Piper began, throwing a cautionary glance to the door where the supervisor had just left. Who was this girl again?

"Don't worry, he says he'll check up on us but he never does. Sometimes he doesn't even come back from the lunch break." She said, as if sensing Piper's unasked question. The hand from her propped up arm opened, fingers beckoning her over. "Come here." She said, nodding her head to the seat beside her. Piper glanced at the door one more time, causing the other girl to laugh. "Trust me, honey. We could light a fire in here and he still wouldn't come back."

Piper blinked, looking at the mysterious girl from across the room. "Okay." She said. She gathered up her items and brought her bag over.

The girl removed her feet from the table and Piper sat down next to her.

"It's Piper, right?" The girl asked, not missing a beat.

"Yeah." Piper responded.

Piper took a moment to look at the girl from up close. The girl was taller than she was. Pale. Dark, dark hair. Black glasses framed her face and a seemingly permanent smirk was thrown onto her lips. She was pretty.

She was a different pretty.

"I'm Alex." The girl said. She sucked on the inside of her lip, giving Chapman a once-over. "So did you?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Did I what?"

"Punch Pennsatucky in the face, of course." She prompted.

Piper gave a bashful chuckle. "Oh. Yeah; she ripped my paper in half." Piper responded.

"How _dare _she." Alex drawled. She adjusted her glasses, offering a knowing look.

"Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad!" Piper said, feeling the need to defend herself. She pouted, remembering the confrontation. "Trust me, she deserved it."

"I'm just teasing; I'm sure she did deserve it. I didn't peg you for the type to deliver, though. You're on student council, aren't you?" Alex asked.

"Yes. That's actually part of it." Piper said. She ran a hand through her mess of blonde hair. She was getting fidgety. Something about this girl was making her nervous. "It's like people think we owe them. They get upset when we don't use their ideas." She said, ignoring the small twist she felt somewhere deep in her stomach.

It was a familiar, odd twist. It confused Piper.

Was it the way that Alex was looking at her? Why was she looking at her like that? Like she was genuinely interested in what she had to say. Like what she was saying mattered. Piper almost shook her head. She over thinking something that was most likely nothing.

The girl just had a certain allure to her, that's all.

"Hmm," She paused, thoughtful. "I like a girl on top." Alex said. She maintained a confident eye contact, the gesture both challenging and casual. Piper raised an eyebrow at the innuendo but all she could do was laugh.

It was natural to her, light laughter tumbling out from behind nervous lips.

"What else do you like?" Piper asked before she could stop herself. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, better revealing curious green eyes. _Flirting._ That, too, was natural. She liked being liked.

But the thought of Larry crossed her mind, making her feel guilty for even encouraging it.

"Aside from detention on a sunny day and the promise of more detentions to come?" The corner of Alex's lip curled upwards. "Pizza, for starters. Black eye liner, dogs, the occasional Kanye song."

Piper nodded her head seriously. "Deep."

"Am I impressing you yet?" Alex asked, locking Piper into a gaze that was both intense and lazy.

How did she do that?

Piper let out a puff of air. "Pizza is sort of an insta-win. I'm not sure if that counts."

Alex shrugged. "I tend to play my best cards first."

There was a moment of silence between the two before they both broke out into laughter. It was a comfortable laughter that was only interrupted by the buzzing on Piper's phone. She retrieved the phone from her pocket, quietly groaning at the influx of messages. This meant that Larry just found out about Pennsatucky. She opened up their messages and quickly began typing a reply to his frantic questions.

"Problem?" Alex asked, noticing the change in disposition.

Piper exhaled. "Boyfriend." She stated, continuing to type on her iPhone.

"Problem." Alex confirmed. With a small hop, she kicked her feet up onto the table again. She picked up her book assuming her earlier page, shot a sideways glance at Piper, and then continued reading.

* * *

_"Can you keep a secret?" _Alex had asked earlier on in the lunch break. Piper had said yes, feeling both anxious and excited as to what this secret could be. And so it shouldn't have been surprising when it was revealed that Alex dealt drugs.

It was the second day of detention and Alex figured that they knew each other well enough for her to continue on with her business. Piper watched with a captivated attention as two boys entered the room, handing a small roll of bills to Alex before going to the bookshelves. They retrieved their purchased drugs from the shelves that Alex had stowed away earlier, and then left without a word. When the _click_ of the door indicated its full closure, Piper turned to Alex with wide eyes. "That's illegal!" She said, accusingly, excitedly.

Alex just smirked, filing away her cash into her napsack. "Technically you were an accomplice."

"Do you do this all the time in detention?" Asked Piper.

"No. Just for the smaller requests. I do all the big transfers outside of school though."

"So you're a druggie?"

"No!" Alex supplied, quickly. "I provide. I don't use."

"That smart, I suppose."

Alex leaned closer into the blond. "Hey, don't tell anyone; alright?"

"I just tweeted about it."

Alex's head snapped to attention. "What?"

Piper let herself enjoyed the wide-eyed expression for a moment before sticking her tongue between her teeth. "I'm kidding."

She received a swat to the shoulder. "You little shit."

* * *

It was day three of detention and Piper figured she could use the resources in M23. A social science assignment on environmental issues seemed to come at just the right time. Piper was looking for a book on glacial melting.

"You're early today. That eager to see me?"

Alex's voice made her jump, not so much because she was startled by her appearance, but moreso by _how close_ her voice was. In fact, it was just behind her ear. Piper turned around quickly, again surprising herself with the proximity. They were now chest to chest, and Alex made no move to provide more space. "Alex," Piper breathed.

A sly smile appeared on the taller girl's lips. So it seemed she liked seeing Piper breathless.

As if to make it that much harder, she brushed the hair from Piper's forehead. Her fingertips grazed the fair skin, lingering there a moment longer than necessary. "What are you looking for?"

"I, uhh -" Piper stumbled. Her skin stilled tingled from Alex's touch. Strange. "I have an assignment on global warming." She managed to get out.

Alex gazed down at the shorter girl. "I'll help you find something." She said, placing a hand on either of Piper's shoulders. She spun her around to face the bookshelf again, letting her hands slide down to Piper's waist.

Piper's breath caught.

"So you read these books?" Piper asked, letting herself be guided a few steps to the right. She looked over her shoulder, her face only inches from Alex's. Maybe she imagined Alex looking at her lips.

"No, I just hide my weed in them." Alex said with a chuckle.

"Oh."

"Carbon dioxide emissions?" Alex offered, hovering her fingers over the spine of a red book.

Piper shook her head. "Glacial melting. Or anything on water levels." She said.

They continued looking. Alex was big enough that they could keep their position comfortably with Alex's one hand resting on the rise of Piper's hip, and the other reaching around her, perusing the bookshelf. Piper didn't mind; it was mutual, it was casual, it was . . . nice. Alex hummed a tune quietly to herself. She let her fingers run over various titles before stopping on one that caught her eye. She hooked onto it with her index finger, pulling it free from the shelf. The title read _The Realities of Climate Change: In the Shadows of Melting Glaciers_. "How about this one?" She asked, holding it out in front of them.

Piper made a sound of triumph. "It's perfect!" She said, taking it with one hand. And then much to Alex's surprise, Piper's other hand came to rest on top of the one on her hip. A cascade of warmth seeped into Alex's skin as Piper interlaced their fingers; a silent interaction.

It was Alex's turn to catch her breath.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, stopping it there folks. Much more to come. I actually have a small plot outline for this one, so I think it'll be a more rewarding read if you can stick with me while I write!**

**I'm excited for this story. Piper and Vause are such interesting characters; both are so flawed yet reasonable. **

**I_ love_ doing AUs. Plus I wanted to post something a bit different than what's currently out there (most people are doing post-finale. Which is cool, but I don't like writing dark stuff.). Let me know what you think!**

**Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another chapter. I think you'll like it.**

**Author's note at the bottom. Reviews are always appreciated!**

* * *

Piper and Polly made their way to the last class of the day, psychology. As usual, Polly was talking (mostly about Peter) and not stopping. It wasn't hard for Piper to follow along, despite being distracted. The various conversation topics required minimal thinking to process.

Apparently Peter has been so into football and training lately that Polly felt like she was getting in the way. Also, she hates his haircut. On another note, someone saw a chicken in the school yard this evening. It caused such a ruckus, half the senior class was in the yard looking for it. And can you believe it? - That latina girl in third year is pregnant! Or at least that's what people are saying. Also, Randy and Karol broke up because of what happened at Terry's party last weekend. What a shame.

Piper half-listened as she fiddled with her phone, an unread message popping up onto her screen.

_Alex Vause __- 1:46pm_

_You left your eraser in detention_

"Speaking of parties, I think Ben and Connor are going to combine their birthday parties next week. We have to go shopping! I heard it's going to be themed." Polly said, hardly needing Piper's acknowledgement to continue. "It'll probably be beach themed, knowing them."

"But none of them have a pool," Piper said.

Polly scoffed. "Ugh, exactly. Perverts."

Piper bit back a smile as she answered Alex's text message.

_Chapman - 1:47pm_

_Shit. What in the world am I going to do without it?_

_Alex Vause - 1:47pm_

_Cry a lot? _

_Chapman - 1:47pm_

_The tears r starting to form_

The two stopped by their lockers to grab their books for class. As usual, they were locker neighbors. Polly opened hers up first; she removed her psychology textbook and then examined her face in the mini mirror. She frowned. "Oh God, it's like my face eats foundation. How does all the make up I put on in the morning come off by fourth period? My pores are huge." She asked, leaning in closer to her reflection. Her fingers came up to frame her face as she observed her pores in horror.

Piper swung open her own locker. "You still look hot." She assured her. A piece of paper fell from the open locker and swayed to the ground like a snowflake. Piper regarded it curiously for a moment before she bent down to pick it up. Not paper; it was a picture. "Oh," She said, upon turning it over. It was a picture of her. Her ninth grade yearbook picture grinned back at her with all the ugliness of transitional puberty. "What the fuck?"

Where did it come from?

Polly's chin was hovering over Piper's shoulder in an instant. Curiosity turned into amusement within a fraction of a second, and Polly burst out laughing. "Oh my God, Piper, look at your _braces_!" She squealed. She snatched the photo from Piper's grasp, turning it over in her hands.

"Hey!" Piper exclaimed, trying to grab it back. Polly held it just out of her reach, twirling as she evaded capture. "Did you put that in there?" Piper asked.

Polly let out a _pffft. _"No, but I should have!" She said with a grin. She pointed to the mouth area. "You were a gap-toothed bitch."

Piper allowed her to dance around for a moment. She was clearly more amused than Piper was.

The blonde pressed her lips together, plucking the photo from Polly's fingertips with a warning and triumphant snarl. "Whatever, I'm cute as hell now." Piper proclaimed, a pleased smile tipping her lips into a U.

"And modest as fuck," Polly mumbled; a comment which Piper blissfully ignored.

She flipped the picture over in her hands. There was nothing written on it - no words, no tear marks where it might have been attached to a yearbook; it didn't even have finger smudges on it, save where Polly and herself had been touching it. It was in very good condition, as if it had been well-preserved or just recently printed. "Weird." Piper said, regarding the photo with scrutiny. "Why would someone put this in my locker?" She mused.

"Because they have a good sense of humor?" Polly offered, still thoroughly enjoying the situation. She dug through Piper's locker and fished out her psychology textbook, plopping it into Piper's arms. "Here. And maybe Larry did it." She said while nodding her head in the direction of their classroom. "But let's get a move on, or we'll be late."

Piper took one last look at the embarrassing photo before stuffing it into her back pocket. "Alright, I'll ask him." She said.

She trailed behind Polly who had already started walking down the hall. Checking her phone, Piper smiled at the new message.

_Alex Vause - 1:49pm_

_Fuck, that means we should see each other soon. It's important I return it. _

_Chapman - 1:49pm_

_Yes. I can't live without it. When r you free?_

"You're walking extra slow today, Chapman. Don't text and walk, you'll end up falling!" Polly called over her shoulder. "You're uncoordinated as it is."

Piper flipped her the bird.

_Alex Vause - 1:50pm_

_After school. . . Come over?_

_Chapman - 1:50pm_

_I have to do my project tonight!_

_Alex Vause - 1:50pm_

_Lame._

_Chapman - 1:51pm_

_You are_

_Alex Vause - 1:52pm_

_I'll help you with it.  
_

_Chapman - 1:52pm_

_But I don't want to get an F_

_Alex Vause - 1:52pm_

_In that case, you sorely need my help._

The girls arrived in the class, sitting at their usual seats near the door. Piper pulled out her books and piled them neatly onto the desk.

_Chapman - 1:55pm_

_Fine. Where should I meet you?  
_

Piper's attention was caught by a hand waving in her face. "Gee, you _are_ out of it today. Is something on your mind?" Polly asked, retracting her hand. The look on her face was a mix between genuine concern, and concern about how much Piper had listened to in the past couple of minutes and if she would have to repeat it.

Piper blinked herself back to reality. "No. Nope." She said.

"So what do you think?" Polly asked. Piper responded with an open mouth, struggling to form the answer to a question she didn't hear in the first place. Polly saved her the pain. "About Pete. Should I take him up on his offer to go to his training thing this weekend? Or do you think I'll just be bored out of my mind?"

"You'll be bored." Piper said. "But you should still go."

Polly looked reluctant as she agreed. "Bah. That's what I was thinking. God, what is it with boys and football? They're obsessed." She said. She reached into her bag, pulling out her books as well.

"Boys love their balls. It's a thing."

"More than girls love their balls." Polly said, gaining a sheepish laugh from Piper.

She spent about half a minute typing on her phone before turning to face Piper, her eyes narrowing at Piper suspiciously. "So who's it you've been texting this whole time?"

Piper blinked at her. "What?"

"Because it's not Larry. He just texted me asking if I've gotten ahold of you since this morning. Since he hasn't been able to." She said, adding that last part in with pointed emphasis. She paused for effect. "_In fact_, is there a reason you always come out of detention all smiley and spaced out?" Polly asked, giving Piper her typical I'm-your-best-friend-but-I-can-tell-you're-up-to-n o-good face. Piper averted her gaze. Which was probably a mistake.

"Oh my god, you _like_ having detention!" Polly said, a finger raising at Piper with the realization.

Piper's jaw dropped as if that was ridiculous. "I do _not_." She said, a pained hand flying to her chest.

"Oh enough with the dramatics, Piper. Your face was nearly splitting in half with a grin the whole walk here. I've figured it out. You've met someone in detention you're sweet on and now you're doing that_ thing_; admit it!" Polly demanded. She was calling Piper on her bullshit. She'd known her longer than anyone and was entitled to this type of free judgement. Plus, Piper had that guilty, excited look that she'd worn all too often during their years of friendship. Polly recognized it. "Is it a guy or a girl this time?" Polly asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That thing?" Piper repeated, amused by her choice of words. She laughed at Polly's cheekiness. "It's nothing, you nosy hoe."

"Don't hoe me, hoe. And it's not nosy if it involves my boyfriend's best friend." Polly said, jutting her chin in the air. "Thing being _your_ thing, by the way. That thing you do."

"Right. Thing." Piper said, waving her off. Whatever that was. "Trust me, Larry has nothing to worry about." She said.

Polly's eyes widened. "Dating you? He has double to worry about."

The two girls giggled, quieting down when their teacher approached the front of the room to begin his lecture. Piper checked her phone underneath the table.

_Alex Vause - 1:56pm_

_Sweet. I'll be in the parking lot. Probably in my Jeep. Probably sleeping._

Piper hadn't noticed Polly lean in to read her message as well. "A secret meet up!_ I knew it_!" Polly gushed in a low whisper.

Piper rolled her eyes, jamming the phone into her sweater pocket. "Hardly secret. We're just gonna work on my project." She said.

"Is Alex a girl or a guy?" Polly asked.

Piper wonders for a moment why Polly was always so fixated on the gender of her romantic interests. As if it being a girl or guy would somehow make it less bad. Not that it was bad. It was just a normal hang out, right? It wasn't cheating. Nope. "Girl." Piper said.

Polly scrunched up her shoulders, always a sucker for gossip. "Scandalous! It's been a while." She whispered excitedly.

Piper narrowed her eyes, nudging Polly in the ribs. "You say that as if I like her. I haven't told you anything yet." She said.

Polly gave her a look. "Please; I can spot your infatuations from the moment the thought reaches that blonde head of yours. _That_ and the little dazed smile every time you zone out just about puts a sign on your forehead saying you've got a schoolgirl crush. Which leads me to wonder how your body even facilitates the ten thousand crushes you have every year."

"I don't even have _that_ many. Anyways, this is different. She's super cute." Piper said.

Polly rolled her eyes so far back they might as well have gone on vacation. "You're a crush whore." She said. Piper opened her mouth to defend herself, but Polly cut her off. "Just don't do anything dumb, okay? Nothing I wouldn't do."

"But you don't do anything fun." Piper whined.

Polly shot her a dirty look. "I'm being serious, Piper!"

"Same!" Piper said. She put up her hands like a surrender. "Nothing will happen; I'm with Larry."

"Good. No funny business."

Piper lets out a hushed laugh. Polly had interesting views on what was 'right' and 'wrong', considering that she talked shit ninety percent of the time; but Piper had to admire the girl's loyalty. She protected her friends. All of them. "I'm not planning on it." Piper assured her. Polly and her shared a dour glance, causing Polly to almost snort. After all, she was right.

This happened often. Crushes. Infatuations with people and ideas and adventures; Piper had always been drawn to things that were different. She loved to find new ways to feel. But as often as they came and as fast as they sprung, Piper's crushes always withered away. Her interests moved on. So she figured if it always happened that way, she might as well enjoy the excitement of liking someone else - the getting to know each other, the nervousness, the desire and uncertainty. All the things that made it exciting; all the things that Piper loved. This situation was no different. It too, would fade.

Then again, she'd never met a girl like Alex before. But Polly didn't need to know that.

"Nobody ever _plans to._ It just happens. Don't go breaking Larry's heart."

Piper ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "I won't." She said.

* * *

Larry caught up with Piper just as she was leaving. He caught sight of her blond hair bobbing down the halls and literally ran after her.

Piper heard an _ouuf! _behind her and turned around.

"I'm sorry, sir;" Larry said to Luschek, evidently having run into him. He placed an apologetic hand on the maintenance man's arm as he brushed past, making his way to Piper.

"You dumb shit." Luschek grumbled, yanking his arm away from the contact.

Larry made a comical, hardly-sorry face that only Piper could see. "Yikes. That guy really hates me." He said, reaching in to embrace Piper.

Piper laughed, letting herself be pulled into a quick kiss. "Hey handsome."

"Babe." He greeted, falling into step beside her and taking her hand. "You're in a hurry to get out of here today." He commented, giving her a sideways glance.

"I'm in a hurry to get out every day." Piper said. It was true; seven hours in school was enough to send all the students pouring into the parking lot like bats out of hell.

Larry gave her hand a light squeeze. "Well I almost didn't catch you. Which would have been tragic, by the way." He feigned sadness, earning a shove from Piper. He laughed. "Listen, I feel like I haven't seen you all week. Third wheeling Peter and Polly was bad enough, but I've had to eat lunch with Mendez for the past two days and I swear I lost my appetite every time he opened his mouth. On top of that he's trying to grow out his stache and it's in the weird transition zone between peach fuzz and real hair; I'm disturbed."

Piper pressed a kiss to his ear. "It's a testament that you can't live without me. Terrible things happen." She said, giving him a wink.

He dipped his body in agreement. "Finally, somebody who understands me! I knew I was dating you for a reason."

The two reached the exit and Larry held the door for her. "So do you want to come over tonight? We can do something fun. Like lay on the couch and do nothing except eat."

Piper pursed her lips. "Hmm, tempting; but I have to do my project tonight. I'm actually going to Alex's house - she's gonna help me out."

Larry creased his brow. "Alex? The detention girl?" He asked.

"Yes." Piper nodded.

"Oh. Is she good at that stuff? Global warming and whatnot."

Piper raised her shoulder in a suspended shrug. She had no idea. "I think so?"

"Hmm. Okay, but come over afterwards?" He asked, hopeful.

"Maybe. I don't know what time I'll be done, but I'll text you." Piper said.

Larry wasn't thrilled by the offer, but it would do. "Fine. But _do_ text me. Do you have a ride?" Larry asked.

"Yup. And she's waiting for me right now actually, so I'm gonna go." Piper said, placing a kiss on Larry's lips and back pedaling in the other direction. "I'll talk to you later."

Larry stood there, placing two fingers where her lips had just been. "That's all I get?" He called after her. She shrugged from afar, a dorky smirk overtaking her facial features.

Piper waved goodbye and he watched her walk away. God, she was so cute. He really lucked out with her and he knew it. He headed in the direction of his own car, wondering who this new Alex girl was.

* * *

As promised, Alex was in her Jeep, sleeping. She was sprawled across the back seat, arms draped over her face. Only her lips were visible. Her red, luscious lips that looked so soft and-

Piper stopped herself. No need in getting worked up. She'd only been there for three god damn seconds and she was getting worked up.

She smoothed out her hair in the reflection of the window before knocking on it. Alex's arm lifts from her face just enough for her to peek out underneath it. Piper received a sleepy smile from the taller girl.

Alex sat upright, fixing her glasses before opening the door. She slid out of the vehicle, feet padding onto the pavement like a cat landing from a jump. She smirked in her sleepy state, content to just look at Chapman for a few moments.

Piper looked down at herself, then back up at Alex. "What? Do I look weird?" She asked. She didn't see anything unusual.

Alex shook her head. "No. You look good." She said. She opened the passenger door of her Jeep, gesturing to the empty seat. "Let's get going?"

Piper smiles as she passes Alex, stepping into the vehicle. "Thanks." She said. There's a lingering glance before Alex closes the door.

The taller girl got into the driver's seat and turned to Piper. "Do you mind if we make a stop somewhere, first?"

"Where we going?"

Alex turned the key, starting the engine. "My friend Nicky's house."

* * *

**So what do you think?**

**I kept in mind that they're still in high school. They're younger; maybe a little more naive and brash than in the show. If Piper is a bit of an airhead and self-serving in the show, she was probably way worse in high school before she had all that time to mature. **

**So keeping that in mind, I wanted to touch on Chapman's banter personality, her friendship with Polly, and her relationship with Larry (how she clearly loves him but is so capable of being unapologetic about liking other people). **

**Reviews make updates faster!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally updated! It's a long one, guys.**

**Upon request, I've stopped referring to Piper as both "Piper" and "Chapman", as it causes confusion. The two names were so interchangeable in my mind that I didn't even realize I was writing two different names every other line, haha. All fixed, though. Edited the other chapters as well. **

**Also, what a tremendous amount of reviews! I was not expecting such a great response. I appreciate it. Anyways, the rest of the (enormously long) author's note at the bottom.**

**Oh and one last thing - I wanted to kind of put in some of Piper Kerman's lines as a tribute. So the "wisecracking husky voice" and "she had a playful way of drawing people out" are Kerman's words about Nora (the "Alex" of the book). **

* * *

It was safe to say that Alex drove like a derby driver. Either she needed to change her prescription in order to see that the speed limit was posted as 40mph, not 65mph, or she just in fact gave no fucks. Piper supposed if she had her own Jeep (opposed to sharing her brother's log of a truck) she'd enjoy seeing it kick up some dirt, too.

They were silent now. Alex insisted that Piper listen to some obscure song from some obscure band with whom she wanted to meet the drummer of - which Piper didn't really understand, because the music wasn't very good. Or to be more correct, it wasn't her taste. . . Not that she knew anybody whose taste in music consisted of mostly growls and screams.

But all to one's own, and Alex seemed to like it. Naturally, she used it as an opportunity to admire her companion. Between having one hand loosely steering the wheel and one hand checking her phone about "arrangements" for some "packages", Alex would toss a thoughtful glance to the passenger seat. Even without a comment from her wisecracking husky voice, her attention had a certain way of unnerving Piper.

Piper never knew what to expect.

A small noise of surprise left her mouth as the Jeep went over a rather large bump, stirring her from her thoughts. Alex acknowledged the reaction with an amused look.

She had a playful way of drawing a person out.

"Cute." She said; it was a comment, statement, observation, thought.

And judging by the entertained smile, perhaps Piper hadn't been so discreet with her staring. Piper opted for a pouty face. "Keep your eyes on the road."

"Whatever you say." She drawled.

Piper looked out the window, trying not to look so eager to simply just _be_ there. No, that wasn't cool. And if Piper was one thing, she'd like to think she was cool. She peeked over at the driver's seat, feeling something stir inside of her; a small emotion in her chest that singed like a glowing ember. Maybe she over excitable. Maybe she hadn't had a girl crush in a while now. But it was hard not to admire the girl; the confident, hard composure was evident and sexy. Plus, she was _sure_ that Alex liked her. She hadn't said it, but she had a feeling.

At least _she_ thought they had chemistry.

* * *

So it turned out that Nicky lived in a really, really nice house. Gates of white privilege opened for the black Jeep, admitting passage into the court yard.

"Did you want to stay, or come with? I'm just dropping something off." Alex said, putting the car into park.

Piper unbuckled her seat belt. "Definitely coming with."

The girls exited the vehicle, but not before Alex pulled a box out of the back seat. She tucked it under arm.

"What's in that?" Piper asked.

Alex drummed her fingers on the cardboard as if it contained a pleasant surprise. "Two ounces of good quality weed."

"Oh."

So the visit was a drug deal. Piper's interest was piqued.

Alex led them behind the house, bypassing the front doors and walking straight into the back yard. There was a redhead sitting by the pool using a laptop, her hair was an organized mess of fiery curls and waves. Piper hung back as Alex approached the girl, setting the box down on the table. They seemed very friendly with each other. The girl handed Alex an envelope which she quickly pocketed, and then they got to chatting. Eventually, the two girls looked over at Piper and Alex leaned down to say something into the redhead's ear. Whatever it was, it was funny. Alex threw her head back in laughter before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder to ground herself.

Piper watched from afar. She felt a bit uncomfortable, wanting to know what they were saying. Good things? Bad things? Were they even talking about her? Alex's gaze locked with hers across the yard. She winked.

Piper bit back a smile, choosing to look down at her hands rather than respond. What was it with this girl and making her nervous? She hardly ever got nervous. Nervous wasn't her thing.

Piper stood there for a couple more moments, watching the ordeal and waiting for instructions. She'd never been to a drug deal before; she didn't know how they were supposed to go. And didn't these types of things usually happen at the back of alleyways? A shady transfer of money through a passing handshake - drugs hidden in matchboxes, hooded dealers standing by dumpsters? Maybe this wasn't a drug deal - not that she'd have anything to compare it to.

As it was, it just seemed to be two friends chatting by a pool. The redhead had a glass of orange juice by her computer.

Not threatening at all.

Green eyes looked her way and Alex waved her over. "Come here," She called.

The redhead turned in her chair, beckoning her over as well. "Yeah; don't be a stranger, Stranger."

Piper approached the girls, coming to a stop in front of them. The redhead didn't make any effort to hide her very obvious once-over of Piper. She nodded in approval. "Okay Alex, I feel ya." She said.

Piper looked at Alex with a plea for an explanation. Alex laughed it off. "Ignore that. This is Nicky; she doesn't know how to keep a secret." Alex introduced, leaving Piper more confused than before. She bounced a pointed finger between the two. "Nicky, Piper."

"Hi." Piper said.

"Pleasure." Nicky responded, extending her hand for Piper to shake. Piper reached for it. "Are you even gay?"

"Excuse me?" Piper asked, her hand stilling the transaction.

Alex intercepted. "Ignore that, too."

"I mean, you don't look gay, is all." Nicky said.

Piper finished the handshake with an uncertain laugh. "How does one exactly look gay?" Piper asked.

"Hang around this one enough and you'll find out." Nicky responded, jabbing a thumb in Alex's direction.

Alex tilted her head at the accusation. "Oh?" Alex said, her eyebrow cocking upward. "Coming from the most lesbian lesbian to ever lesbian."

"Wow, just one more time for good measure." Nicky prompted, her hand cupping her ear.

And maybe just to humor her, Alex shook her head and muttered "Lesbian."

Nicky grinned. She picked up her glass, swirling her drink around as she turned to Piper. "You know, Alex can't stop talking about you."

"Really?" Piper asked. She looked over at Alex who subsequently slapped a hand over her glasses as if Nicky had said the wrong thing. That was surprising. She didn't take Alex for the type to talk about girls to her friends.

"Yeah, if I spend another minute alone with her I swear I'd be gushing about you too." Nicky said, slouching back in her chair comfortably.

So Alex gushes. That was even more surprising. Piper turned to Alex who had somewhat regained her composure. "Is that true?"

Alex paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. She smirked. "You're quite infectious, Piper." She said, leaving it at that. Piper felt her school girl crush going into overdrive, and she held back a stupid smile.

Nicky laughed at the scene unfolding before her. "Well this is cute, though it's kind of making me want to vomit."

"Maybe you should cut back on the embarrassing details and then you won't blow chunks." Alex commented.

Nicky shrugged, owning it. She turned to Piper. "So, what are you doing tonight?" She asked.

Piper's gaze skitted over to Alex for a moment, as if the answer was still undecided. "Homework." She said, finally.

"Exciting." Nicky commented, wasting no time to continue with her proposition. "But listen. When you're done with all that, why don't you come to the bon fire tonight. It's at the lake near the school."

"Oh, I don't know." Piper said, hesitating. She wondered for a moment if it was a good idea to attend since she'd definitely be out of her scene. Not that being in this strange girl's backyard beside a box of weed was her scene in the first place. "I'm supposed to see my boyfriend later."

"Boyfriend?" She asked, amusement crinkling the lines beside her eyes. She leaned forward, elbow on one knee as her lips pulled into a smirk. "Well tell you what; try your best to show up. I'm sure Alex would miss you if you didn't."

* * *

"I don't like carrots."

They had been sitting in Alex's room for almost an hour now; Piper was sprawled out her stomach, her laptop sitting on the bed. She was almost done her paper. And by almost done, it meant she had gotten a solid three sentences typed up since she got there. Alex was . . . distracting her. With everything possible. Piper backed her head away from the intruding vegetable.

"They're good for your eyes." Alex cooed. She continued to wave it around in her face.

"Then maybe _you_ should eat them." Piper said, her lips pulling back into a grin. She swatted it out of her facial vicinity and Alex laughed, popping the mini-carrot into her mouth.

She made a point to adjust her glasses. "No amount of carrots will make me less blind." She said, taking the bowl of vegetables from the bedside table. She shuffled onto the bed beside Piper so that they were laying side by side. "You, on the other hand, still have hope."

"I don't think I'd look half bad with glasses." Piper said.

Alex looked at her thoughtfully. "Hmm," She shuffled again, removing the black frames from her face. "Let's see." She mused. She carefully placed them on Piper's face. Brushing away a hair, she studied her handiwork.

Piper's fingers gripped the frames lightly on either side of her temples, not withholding her surprise as she tried to adjust her vision. "Shit. You really are blind." She said, giggling. She squinted, trying to see Alex's face through the lens. It was just a blurry outline of jet black hair against pale white skin. "How do I look?"

"Like a librarian in a porno."

"I'm gonna go ahead and say that's a good thing?" Piper asked. She removed the glasses from her face, handing them back to Alex.

Alex folded them in her hands. "Me too." She said, a smile playing at her lips. She reached forward, tilting the laptop screen towards her. "So. What have you got so far?"

Piper propped up her elbow, placing her chin onto the makeshift stand. She blew out an exasperated puff of air. "Practically nothing. I suck at writing papers." She said.

"Well that's the thing about papers - you actually have to start writing them." She ignored the death glare that Piper shot her, shrugging cheekily. "Here, let me see your outline." Alex said, wiggling her fingers at the papers that were just out of her reach. Piper handed them over. She flipped through them, snorting at the disorganized mess of words and arrows. "You have the attention span of a peanut, apparently. You didn't finish writing half of your sentences."

"I was writing point form." Piper defended. She placed her hands over the paper, attempting to cover up the words. Alex pushed them away.

"Really?" Alex pointed at a particular line. "This one only says '_The glacial temperature is a_'. The glacial temperature is a _what_ exactly?"

Piper bit back a sheepish smile. "Well, I don't remember now. Okay fine, _that_ one is unfinished. But there are plenty of good points I've written there."

Alex smirked, continuing to name down the list. "'_Confines of glacial melting is limitless in its limitations of consequence_' - that makes so much sense; '_Water levels on the rise so dangerous globally_' - another masterpiece sentence; oh, here's another temperature one: '_An increase in temperature of sea water is that the_'. Oh my god, you ended it with '_is that the_'." Alex burst out laughing. "You have no fucking idea what you're writing, do you?" She asked.

Piper narrowed her eyes, equal parts embarrassed, equal parts content to laugh at her own expense. Alex, on the other hand, could barely contain herself. "Alright, so maybe I didn't read that book we picked out. I skimmed it and wrote down some lines that caught my eye."

"This is like treasure hunting." Alex said with a grin. "Is there more?" She flipped through the pages.

"Okay. You're having way too much fun with that." Piper said, pulling the paper from Alex's grasp. She placed it on the other side of her, protectively.

"Maybe we should do this more often. I'd love to see how you approach math." Alex said, a teasing smile playing at her lips.

"I'm actually really good at math, thank you." Piper quipped, defending what was left of her honor. Math was her strong suit; words weren't. She liked reading them, but writing them was a different story. "I'm a peer mentor."

"Yikes."

"People _request_ me, you know." Piper said, jutting out her chin proudly.

"Do they regret it afterwards?" Alex asked.

"No, because I'm so great at it."

A pleased smile spread itself over Piper's facial features, and Alex rolled her eyes. Her wandering gaze stopped on Piper's backside. "What's this?" Alex asked. She pulled at the item in question - a white paper jutting out of Piper's pocket, revealing the picture from earlier. "Oh, wow."

Piper looked over her shoulder, allowing the picture to be taken from her. "I forgot about that. It's umm . . . me."

Alex arched an eyebrow. "You keep a picture of yourself in your back pocket?"

"Well, no." Piper started. "Someone put it in my locker. Probably Larry."

"That was romantic of him." Alex deadpanned, rolling onto her back. Her hair splayed out around her in a cascade of black, and she held the picture above her. "Come here." She said, beckoning Piper with her pointer finger.

Piper shifted over, sliding a thigh between Alex's and planting a palm next to her face to steady herself. She propped herself up next to the picture and smiled for comparison.

"Puberty was good to you, Pipes."

"Thank goodness." Piper murmured.

"You were cute back then, too."

Piper arched a skeptical brow. "_Please_," She snorted. "There was nothing cute about the ninth grade."

"On the contrary," Alex said, reaching behind Piper. She slid her hand into Piper's back pocket, returning the picture to its original location. "I think you did well with the nerd look."

Piper's pointer finger and thumb found a stray black hair to play with. She followed the strand up to her neck, then placed her hand flat on Alex's collar bone. She smiled. "Then you'd be the first."

They stayed like that for a moment, looking at a each other. Alex's pupils were wide and dark, and Piper would be damned if her heart didn't flutter under her gaze. Her eyes flitted downwards and she peeked at Alex's lips - a motion that didn't go unnoticed. Between the hammering in her chest and her wandering eyes, Piper found solace through touch. She traced the rise of Alex's collar bone, her fingers splayed out softly, grazing the shock white skin. Alex allowed the ghosting touch, a cocky smile making it's way onto her face. They both knew better.

Piper thinks of a couple things she ought to say, but she can't get past the sound of her heart pounding its steady beat against her rib cage. Perhaps there isn't much to say. Their faces are close, their bodies are pressed together, and Piper is practically straddling her; what they don't say is already being expressed.

Alex reached up, covering Piper's hand with her own. "You're squishing me." Alex said, softly. She giggled, bringing Piper's hand to her lips and placing a chaste kiss on the tips of her fingers, making them tingle.

The warmth seeped through Piper's skin causing several impulses to spring up at once. She ignored them all. "Sorry," She said, making a motion to remove herself from the intimate position.

Alex stopped her.

"Wait, stay." Alex said, her voice a low rasp. She placed her hands on the dip of Piper's thighs as if to keep her from leaving.

Piper obeyed, if only to give her time to protest. "I- " She started, feeling a shiver run up her spine. Alex sat upright, but kept Piper firmly in place - bringing them yet closer. She tried her best not to tremble at the touch. Tried her best not to seem so weak. Alex held her as if she had no intention of letting go and Piper felt dizzy from anticipation. She was vaguely aware of the pressure of Alex's thumbs, resting gently on her hip bones; the feel of Alex's gaze looking at nothing except back into her own eyes, as if the rest of her body could be explored by touch and not by sight; the twitch of her own lips as they threatened to smirk in the hands of this girl, a drug dealer, a stranger.

"Let's stop pretending. There's a reason you came over today." Alex said, slowly. Her voice was low and sultry and Piper watched her mouth articulate the words carefully, forcing herself to lift her gaze to a more appropriate spot.

She nodded hesitantly. It was the only thing she could do; her motor functions weren't quite working and her mind wasn't quite willing. A word or two or ten stayed jumbled on Piper's tongue, looking for the right way to be said.

Alex broke out into deep smirk. "Here." She said.

She held up Piper's eraser.

* * *

The night was colder than usual. The glow from the fire was the only warmth and light provided at the lake front. Alex's coat was strewn across Piper's shoulders as they huddled around the large fire.

Piper had already met most of the people there – well, the people that Alex talked to, anyway. She'd been introduced briefly, and Alex spent the most part of the night whispering relevant tid bits about them into her ear.

Piper was pretty good with names. There was Big Boo, sitting on the other end of the fire with her new puppy; Morello sitting beside her, talking about her boyfriend Chris who went to a different school (though nobody else has met him yet); Tricia was sitting with her girlfriend Mercy, much to the chagrin of Big Boo; and Nicky was off to the side, making some shady deals with different people at the lake front. The area was peppered with boys and girls. Some of them Piper recognized, but most she didn't. Piper frowned. Perhaps they were from other schools. She thought she knew most of the people in Litchfield - at least the important people, anyway.

There was a clink of bottles and cheers of approval as one of the boys pulled out some beer from a portable cooler, passing them down around the fire. Alex held one out to her. "Do you drink?"

Piper took the bottle from her, popping off the twist cap. "Yeah, but I'm a bit of a lightweight."

"Even better." Alex said, holding her bottle out for a cheers. Piper tapped the glass with her own - she could use a drink. She was thinking too much about what had happened earlier and it was making her head hazy. What was she even doing here? This night was never about homework and they both knew it. Would she have kissed Alex earlier if Alex had initiated it? Probably. It was a _moment_, and Piper almost let it get the best of her. She shook her head; she usually had more control of herself. She could still feel the warmth of Alex's hands holding her, and the hedonic gaze that Alex had locked her in. The memory itself was irrevocably sexy. Maybe the fresh air would be good for her. Anyhow, she felt a little more in her comfort zone on the beach; having a drink with some friends was more along the lines of what she was used to. She still felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb in this group of people, but she wasn't here for them.

Her thoughts wandered and she briefly thought back to her report, which was left only three-quarters done on Alex's bed. Even with Alex's help she wasn't too great at finishing things; she'd probably scramble and finish it off it in the morning.

The group got louder as one of the boys produced some fireworks from his bag. He held up a pack of roman candles.

"Put that shit away, Mike. You're gonna wake up everyone in the neighborhood." Big Boo said. "And Little Boo doesn't like fireworks."

"Oh come on, don't be so boring. Take your dog home, he's falling asleep on the beach anyways." The boy responded.

"Aw, I love fireworks. Let's see 'em." Morello said, clapping her hands together.

There was a buzz of bickering as the group argued about whether to light the fireworks or not. Piper almost jumped as she felt a hand snake around her waist and Alex's warm breath against her ear. As many times as it happened that night, Piper still couldn't get used to the feeling.

"Do you want to go for a walk? We'll get out of here." Alex whispered.

Piper took one look at the group, getting rowdier by the second. Big Boo looked like she was going to throw her corn at the fireworks boy.

"Good idea." She said. She let Alex help her up and lead her away from the fire, beer in tow. They headed to the water and walked along the shoreline.

Piper cast a sideways glance at Alex, feeling a small urge to take her hand. It seemed fitting. Instead, she took a sip from her beer. "So why haven't I seen you around?" Piper asked. "I mean, we're both seniors. We've spent almost four years in the same school."

Alex placed her glasses on her head. She looked comfortable walking alongside Piper. "If you haven't noticed, we're from different crowds." Alex said with a laugh. "Plus, you weren't exactly looking for me. Though I've seen _you_ around before."

"You have? When?" Piper asked, strangely pleased with the idea of Alex knowing her before she'd known about Alex.

"Here and there. You run around a lot, you talk kind of loud, you had a fling with a friend of a friend - who's an asshole by the way, I don't know how you dealt with him and his raging testosterone." Alex shook her head at the thought. "I knew who you were. I probably would have voted for you during student elections."

"But you didn't?"

"I didn't vote." Alex said, smiling into the opening of her bottle before taking another sip.

Piper ran a hand through her hair, pushing the blonde locks out of her face. She looked at the water thoughtfully; the lake was fairly still tonight. The moon glimmered on the surface, strewn and broken by the occasional wave. "You should have talked to me." Piper said, quietly.

Alex let out a sharp laugh. "What for? So you could introduce me to that dork you're dating?" Alex asked, biting her lower lip and with a teasing smile.

"Dork?" Piper repeated.

"Yeah. _Dork_." Alex said, with extra emphasis.

Piper's eyebrows knitted delicately. "Larry's not half bad, you know. He's a great guy."

"Maybe. But he bores you." Alex said, flicking a lazy look in her direction. "Doesn't he? I mean, you wouldn't be here otherwise."

Piper laughed at the accusation. Not that there wasn't truth behind it; this was . . . this was just different. Larry was funny and sweet. He wasn't boring, he just wasn't exciting. Sometimes she was just drawn to things that were a bit more stimulating. Flashy. Mysterious. Dramatic. . . other things.

But only sometimes. "Hey, that's not fair." Piper said, her eyes narrowing.

"It's entirely fair." Alex said, her lips pulling into a smirk. "I'm not complaining. I like rolling around in bed with you."

"You make it sound sexual."

Alex gave a throaty chuckle. "It can be. Want to?"

"Alex!"

"I'm good company. Promise." Alex said, shrugging playfully. "If I don't get you off seven times then we don't have to do it again."

"Now that's just excessive." Piper said.

Alex laughed, taking a sip of her beer. "Your loss." She said. She slipped her hand into Piper's casually, interlacing their fingers with a reassuring squeeze. "So what else do I need to know about you, Piper?"

Piper looked down at their interlocked hands, feeling warmth seep through her skin. The gentle grip was a comforting weight. Larry wouldn't appreciate the gesture; but then again, Larry wasn't here. "Umm. . . I'm not sure. You can ask me anything."

"Hmm, you know giving me that type of freedom means you're going to get some dirty questions."

"No dirty questions."

"Boring."

"Ask me anything else." Piper said.

"Fine," Alex relented. She looked at Piper thoughtfully. "What are your top three favorite things to do?"

Piper sidestepped a piece of driftwood that had washed up on shore. She gave the question a moment's thought. "Sleep. Sleep is definitely up there." Piper responded.

Alex nodded. "I agree. Long sleeps in the Jeep."

"You love that Jeep, don't you?"

"Is it obvious?"

Piper snorted. "Are you one of those people that name their cars?"

"Yeah. I named mine Jeep."

"Smart ass."

"You still have two more answers."

"Oh, right." Piper said. She contemplated what she did in her spare time, a realization that she didn't really do anything of much importance dawning over her. She supposed she liked being on her laptop and hanging out with Polly. Did those count? "I guess I should put eating up there, too. Since I do that often." Piper said, feeling pleased when Alex chuckled. "And then the third would be reading. Or watching movies - I'm in love with the movie theater experience."

"Ten dollar popcorn and sold out seating type of girl?"

Piper nodded. "That's me. And I do enjoy a good plate of nachos."

"I'll get you some next time we go out."

"Next time? You want to hang out again?"

"I'd like to."

"Strange, I thought I was . . . _nacho type_."

Alex popped an eyebrow. "Did you just -?"

"Yeah." Piper said, sporting a megawatt smile. She was far too pleased with herself.

"Oh my god."

"I've never been able to use that pun before. It was weirdly satisfying."

Alex shook her head, half endeared and half wondering if she should push Piper into the lake. "You're so lame."

"I'm an opportunist."

"And lame." Alex commented, chuckling. She sucked lightly on the inside of her cheek as if she was sizing Piper up. Finally, she tugged on her hand and gestured to a nearby log. "Here, let's take a seat."

They sat down side by side, setting their beers down in the sand. The log made for a nice bench by the scenic water, only rough in some places, only dirty in others. Piper wasn't complaining. They had walked a fair bit and the bon fire was the size of a quarter in the distance. The din from the get together was a quiet buzz from where they were sitting. They were alone.

Piper glanced over, vaguely making out the outline of Nicky being approached different by people presumably buying weed. "So how does it work? You supply and Nicky sells?" Piper asked.

Alex followed Piper's gaze, watching Nicky from afar. "More or less." She said. "Nicky's sort of bad at it though - she does all my drugs. I've got a couple of girls who do all the running."

"A couple girls? So they do all the dirty work while you get to hang out with the pretty blondes?" Piper asked, batting her eyelashes for effect.

Alex laughed, shifting a bit closer. "I can be very persuasive, you know."

"So it seems. I'm here, aren't I?"

"Oh please, you jumped at the opportunity to ditch your paper." Alex said. "But even if that wasn't the case, I think I could get you to come out."

Piper raised an eyebrow, wondering if that had a double meaning. Though it wasn't a secret that she liked girls as well as boys, she supposed she never had a real relationship with one. She glanced back over at the bon fire, her eyes flitting over from the set of footprints they'd left behind to the orange flicker in the distance.

Blast. Here she was thinking about relationships when her own was very much a looming reality. Admittedly, she had put it on the back burner for the night; and admittedly, that's where she intended to keep it. Larry wouldn't take the whole hanging-out-with-a-lesbian-drug-dealer-instead-of- doing-homework so well. Not to mention her almost slip up earlier.

Was she always this fickle? Or was she naturally capricious? Piper wondered these things. She'd often been accused of liking attention too much . . . But who doesn't like attention? And she couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind not being attracted to Alex. She was definitely attractive.

Her head was such a mess.

"I'm glad I did." Piper said. She wrung her hands together, wondering if the chill she was feeling was from the cold or from her nerves.

Alex watched her for a moment, perhaps fruitfully aware of the way she made Piper feel. Perhaps it was obvious. Maybe Alex was just observant.

"There's something about you, you know? You're different." Alex said. A smile ghosted her lips, but the statement had a tone of sincerity - like her words were measured and careful.

Piper chuckled. "Do you say that to all the girls?"

"There aren't any."

"I suppose that's a good thing. They wouldn't be happy with the way you've been coming onto me all night."

"You want me to." Alex maintained eye contact, pursing her lips in that smug way she does.

There's a delay before Piper breaks the eye contact, her gaze shifting elsewhere. She knew that sometimes saying nothing was better than saying something she didn't mean. Damn Alex for calling her on all her shit tonight. Was she that easy to figure out? She's human; she can't help how she feels. Anyone would agree that that was reasonable, right? She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I like you, Pipes." Alex murmured, her watchful gaze sweeping over Piper.

Piper smirked. "Who doesn't?" She received a push to the shoulder, rocking her sideways.

"Fuck you; say it back."

"Very persuasive, I see. It must be your way with words." Piper teased.

"Well, I _am_ good with my mouth." Alex said, a suggestive smile lighting up her features.

Piper chewed the her bottom lip, a partial laugh escaping. Was it always this easy to be with people?

"I like you too." Piper said, quietly. Very quietly. In fact, Piper would have suspected that Alex didn't hear it if it weren't for the faint smile that tipped the corner of her lips. She looked content with the admission - calmed, almost.

There's a stretch of silence, but it's comfortable. She liked that about them; that they didn't have to be talking all the time to enjoy being together. There was no scramble for the next topic, no wondering if it'll become awkward, no averting gazes or coughing into fists . . . It was just two people in each other's company.

It was nice.

Piper exhaled deeply, closing her eyes and basking in the brisk night air. It was refreshing being outside. The setting was quiet, but not empty, the moon cast a blue sheen over the shore, and so far she hadn't been eaten alive by bugs. That was a good thing. She forgot how much she liked the outdoors. Her and Larry were more of a movie night couple; they ordered food, lazed on the couch, and held marathons. Not that there was anything wrong with that - she enjoyed it; but they rarely hung out outside. Unless they were going for dinner, which wasn't necessarily going out per se . . .

There was a faint clicking sound, and Piper looked over to Alex who had begun playing with a zippo lighter.

_Click_. Flame.

_Click_. Closed.

_Click_. Flame.

"Do you smoke?" Piper asked.

_Click_. Closed. "Umm, yes. Not often."

"You can smoke now, I don't mind." Piper offered.

Alex shook her head. "No, it's fine. I just play with my lighter when I-" She stopped herself mid sentence. "It's something I do when I'm deciding."

"What are you deciding?"

Alex smiled, looking at Piper before looking back down to her zippo. Piper could vaguely see a set of crossed drum sticks and the words "_Death Mane_" engraved into the steel surface.

_Click_. Flame.

"I'm not deciding. You are." Alex said.

_Click_. Closed.

She pocketed the zippo.

Piper frowned at the ambiguity of the answer. She was about to question it when there was a loud _crack_ in the distance. Both of them turned to see the sky light up green briefly, then turn black again. There was another loud noise and this time it was red shooting into the sky, going up, up, up, and then fading away. Fireworks.

"I guess that means Boo went home." Piper said, watching another red orb launch into the sky.

"Or she's sitting there throwing corn at people." Alex said, lightly. She shuffled in close behind Piper, the angle proving to be perfect for Piper to use Alex as a reclining lounge chair - which she did. Her hands made their way around Piper's small frame, wrapping her up easily and pulling her in closer. "Do you like fireworks?" Alex asked, fitting her chin comfortably onto Piper's shoulder.

Piper took a sharp breath, willing herself to stay calm as her heart starting thumping a speedy beat within her chest. Alex had casually turned this into a cuddle fest. How did that happen so fast? Not that Piper resisted like she should've.

This was . . . good? Piper almost shook her head. No, this was bad - this was the sort of good that ended up bad. Yet she couldn't stop herself. She slid her hands along the arms circling her torso, taking in the warmth, taking in the softness. There was something about a girl's touch that was different from a boy's; something that could be both gentle and strong. Her palms came to rest over the rise of Alex's knuckles. "Yes." Piper answered, turning her head slightly. Their cheeks barely grazed.

If there was a moment to draw the line of which Piper shouldn't cross, it would've been then. But of course, she didn't. She never prided herself on her willpower, anyway.

They watched as a couple more roman candles were lit. An amateur display of red, green, and blue lit up the sky and glossy eyes reflected the ambient glow of colors. Piper watched intently, finding it strangely entrancing. After a couple minutes the roman candles ceased and then there was one big firework - one that shot up into the night and exploded against the black canvas. There was a crackle and a bright display of white lights splayed outwards, spidering across the sky like new stars. Not bad for a couple of teenagers messing around with pyrotechnics.

She watched as the night returned to its normal shade of black, save for the blue sheen that the moon provided. They waited for a minute or so, but that seemed to be the last one. "It was no fourth of July, but that was actually pretty nice." Piper said, folding her hands onto her lap.

"Hmm," Was the only sound Alex made. She hummed into Piper's shoulder, other purposes in mind. The deep vibrations felt unreasonably good.

"I've always liked fireworks. Or maybe I just like them because it usually means I'm with my friends. Or other people. They're romantic, don't you think?" Piper asked, aware that she might be rambling. But Alex's hold on her was tighter now and her hands were starting to wander, making it hard for Piper to concentrate.

"Mmhmm. Yes." Alex agreed, her nose nudging the back of Piper's ear, breath tickling the sensitive skin there. Piper's head was spinning now. Yes, this was definitely going in a direction that it shouldn't. This was absolutely wrong. This was bad. Bad, bad, bad. She shouldn't be so excited. Why was she so excited? "You're thinking too loud." Alex said, as if she could read her mind. A low chuckle escaped her throat.

"I -" Piper started, closing her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink. Yes, she should definitely stop this. "Alex, I think we should-"

Piper felt the kiss even before it was pressed into her neck, freezing at the guileful interruption.

She felt Alex's fingers artfully move aside her hair, exposing her skin; the warmth from Alex's approaching lips seconds before they grazed her neck; the heated pressure, the light suction.

Piper stiffened at the touch; both surprised and riveted by the motion. Alex's lips lingered for only a second longer, before they were pulled away again. A small, short kiss. That was her move.

"_Alex_," Piper repeated, willing her rigid body to relax. She turned to face Alex, suddenly aware of her racing heart and drying mouth. Her eyes were bright and alert, filling with purpose as her gaze dipped and looked at Alex's parted lips. She wet her own lips, subconsciously.

Alex brought her fingers to Piper's face, tentatively, thumbs tracing the curve of her porcelain jaw before resting at the back of her neck. Her eyes pulsed in the darkness. They seemed more focused, more intense somehow; sexy and vibrant in the moonlight. Dark and almost dangerous. Alex was waiting for a response. A decision.

There was twist in Piper's stomach and she wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement. They both had the same effect on her.

Alex leaned in closer, slowly - she was taking her time to draw the moment out. Her eyes were magnetic and Piper found herself unable look away. Alex was at ease, at bay; drawing impossibly close. She cocked her eyebrow slightly, lips pulling into a smirk. "Are you going to kiss me back, or what?" She drawled. Her voice was low and taunting, her breath hot like fire on Piper's lips. Her measured gaze made Piper feel weak yet invigorated, promising a thrill - like she knew what she was doing. Like she'd done this a hundred times before.

Piper's breath came out in a shudder and she supposed that would suffice as an answer.

Forget the line; she's far crossed it now. She could feel it as Alex's finger tips grazed the back of her neck, making the tiny hairs stand on end and surrendering any sense of doubt. The fire in her stomach wasn't quite from the alcohol. There was an irresistible urge to kiss Alex's wanting lips, a rampant desire to run her fingers through hair dark as night; Piper's body nearly begged for release there and then. _Needed_ it. . . She froze, closing her eyes for a brief moment and feeling a pang of guilt. Not quite regret, just guilt. Just the cool air, bark beneath her, fiery touch, heart ramming against her chest, and guilt. But as Alex's warm breath blanketed the space between their parted lips and she tipped her chin up like a gift, Piper found herself leaning closer, extending an invitation. Alex doesn't wait a second longer.

It's not gentle, but it's not rough, the way Alex captures her lips. It's controlling, needy, and fierce.

The kiss stirred Piper to life and she deepened it. Alex's fingers moved deftly, peeling back her coat before encircling her torso. She guided Piper onto her lap – an encouraging lift in which Piper was eager to obey. Piper straddled her. Her hands proved to be opposing forces, unsure, unfamiliar, and curious. One hand, fingers spread daintily on the stretch of Alex's collarbone, gently pushed her away, gently kept her at a distance; like a plead and a warning all at once. The other travelled along Alex's back, pulled her closer, lured her forward, taking her in with desperate fingers raking against the thin fabric. They couldn't seem to kiss deep enough, hard enough.

Alex's lips trailed across every inch of exposed skin. She pressed heated kisses to Piper's fluttering pulse, handling her gently like a relic. Her lips brushed against Piper's ear, the tip of her tongue snaking along the cartilage. Alex held her as if she were going to shatter. Piper allowed herself the indulgence.

Between the pushing and pulling and heavy breaths, it was fire and ice. Fire from the warmth of Alex's touch to the warmth building in her stomach. It was a mix of alcohol and nerves and pleasure. Ice from the places she had left behind, the places she was no longer kissing or holding, now exposed to the midnight air. Goosebumps left from a passing touch, thigh against thigh, chests pressed together in a heated struggle to be yet closer. Fingers were tangled into blonde hair like a delicate trap, and Alex trembled. Piper hasn't been kissed like this in ages.

But a chilling sense of guilt anchored her to reality.

She was cheating.

The hand on the collar bone suddenly grew stronger, and the push became more forceful, more willing. Their lips parted with a sharp exhale and Piper used her outstretched arm as a buffer to keep the distance between them. She breathed deeply, her free hand coming up to touch her tingling lips.

"I'm sorry." Piper said.

* * *

**Side note: _I'll be putting up all my super long authors notes at the bottom of the chapter instead of at the top from now on, for anyone that cares to ready lengthy rambling. I like writing long-winded author's notes because I think it gives closure to a chapter in between updates and it kind of feels like I'm chatting with you guys . . . which is awesome. This will probably be a long story that will take a while to complete, so we might as well get to know each other. _**

**Author's Note:**

**Well, there we have it. Vauseman explosion. Took a while to update because 1. I had exams, 2. I went on a gif-making frenzy in my overtired state one night and then didn't stop for days, 3. I wasn't sure to cut it off before or after the beach scene (seemed too short without, and a bit lengthy with it included), and 4. There is not a single scene in this chapter that has not been rewritten. **

**Lots of fluff this chapter. I enjoy fluff. Hopefully you do too, since I could literally go on forever without really advancing the plot. I had to cut out parts that didn't really have a place in this chapter because there was simply so much fluffy dialogue that didn't really serve a purpose. I had the kiss part written, but I could not for the life of me get the lead up the way I wanted it. I was also thinking of taking it in another direction where the kiss wouldn't happen for at least a couple of chapters, so I wrote that version out too - but decided to go with this plot line instead. Eventually I just figured I'd post it and edit later or else I'd never end up posting it. (Tell me what you think about the kiss scene - there were so many ways to approach it!)**

**The hardest scene for me to write was definitely the scene at Nicky's house. Even though it was short, it gave me hell. I'm not good with dialogue when it involves more than two people - it ends up being a lot of 'he said, she said'. So if you have tips on how to write multi-person scenes a bit better, I'd love to hear them.**

**One more thing: I'm thinking of keeping this story T rated, but including M rated shorts that I'll upload as completely separate chapters. (I've never done it like this before, so I'm gonna see how it goes. I think you'll like it.)**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing - I read each review, and let me tell you, you guys crack me up. This is probably my favorite fandom to write for so far, and I just started. **

**Anyways, I'm going back to school so I'm hoping to update every couple weeks. I like writing long chapters vs. short, fast updates. I think you guys like the longer chapters a bit better, too.**

**In between chapters you guys can keep up with my OITNB blog (linked in my profile) to check out gifs and other OITNB updates (I try to stay on top of the latest news).**

**Until the next chapter, friends! **


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